Jumpstart Your Career By Using A Big Picture Approach

Are you a manager who is looking for ways to jumpstart or advance your career? If so, in addition to working hard and achieving goals, you might want to find ways to subtlety (and not so subtlety) show that you understand the BIG PICTURE. 

Why?  Because the further you move up the corporate ladder, the more your responsibilities will cover a wide range of areas within your organization. So you want to demonstrate your understanding of how the achievement of goals impacts profits or customer service for your 10-person team as well as for your 100-person organization. HOW and WHEN do you do that? Consider these four  instances:

During Planning Discussions With Superiors: Think about the instances when you have to meet with your immediate boss or other powerful people to discuss future goals, strategies, etc. In those situations, find a way to link what your team or unit is doing to some broader organizational objective. For example, if the discussion concerns profits, describe how an increase in revenues in your area of responsibility might positively impact other areas. You could make the same connection with customer service, quality, or productivity. The topics are limitless. 

During Progress Discussions With Superiors: There are times when you have to update senior managers on what you and your team are doing. Use these opportunities to showcase your knowledge about what is happening elsewhere in your organization. Make connections with other teams, divisions, and departments. For instance, you might show how what you are doing or what you have done will lead to the completion of an assignment somewhere else. 

During Problem Solving Discussions With Superiors: Consider situations when the topic is problems rather than progress. These might involve people, processes, profits, or practices. Whatever the topic, use these encounters to demonstrate your knowledge about the synergistic impact—how failure in one area will impact another area. If the problem involves your team, explain how the resolution will affect other teams. If the problem involves another area within your organization, draw connections between improvements in that area and improvements in other areas.

During Non-Work Discussions With Superiors: Think about all the chance encounters you have with influential people. These might occur at the elevator, in the cafeteria, on the parking lot, or a charity event. Wherever the encounter, you probably start talking about the one thing you definitely have in common-WORK! So don’t just tell the other person what you do or respond to a question with a "yes" or "no" answer. Instead, pepper your remarks with comments about the strategic plan, the company vision, or the organization mission. And be sure to link what you do to outcomes in other areas within your organization.

Demonstrating Your BIG PICTURE Understanding Is Easy

The people in your organization who have power, influence, and authority can help you jumpstart or advance your career. And you are always talking to these people. So use such encounters to let them know how competent you are AND how much you know about your organization. The further you move up the ladder, the more you will need to understand the BIG PICTURE. To demonstrate that understanding, all you have to do is make a few small changes in what you say. So start today!